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Driving While Intoxicated
(DWI)

If you've just been charged with a first offense DWI in Columbia, Rensselaer, Greene, Ulster, or Dutchess Counties in New York State, you will want to read this page. There is some very important, specific information you need to know about the early stages of your DWI case:

1. Suspension Pending Prosecution. If you took a breathalyzer or other chemical test and the result was .10 or greater, New York law allows the Court to suspend your driver's license pending prosecution. This means that when you make your first appearance in Court on arraignment, the DA may ask the Court to suspend your driver's license. The DA can do this even though you intend to plead not guilty. When the DA does this, it will put a tremendous amount of pressure on you to plead guilty because you don't want to be unable to drive for months while the case goes on and on. Strangely, if you plead guilty to DWAI or DWI, you will be able to drive immediately on a "conditional license."
   
   The only solution to a suspension pending prosecution is to have the Court issue a "hardship license," which will allow you to drive to work while the case proceeds. This means that you need to be able to present to the Court at arraignment information about your work, your medical needs, your families' living situation and the like so that your lawyer will be able to convince the judge to give you a "hardship license." The "hardship license" takes the sting out of suspension pending prosecution.
   


2. Refusal of a Chemical Test. If you refused to take a breathalyzer or other chemical test, New York law says that your license will be suspended because of the refusal. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that you're not driving until the case is finally over. It means that you are entitled to a DMV "Refusal Hearing" at which an administrative law judge will decide if the suspension of your license for refusal of a chemical test was proper. You and your lawyer MUST attend this refusal hearing for two reasons. First, if it turns out that the officer did not legally stop your car, or did not have probable cause to arrest you, or did not properly warn you of the consequences of the refusal to take a chemical test, or that you didn't really refuse the test, the DMV judge should lift the suspension of your driver's license. You will then be able to drive while the case goes on. Second, and just as important, the hearing will be a preview of all of the evidence that the officer(s) will give at your trial. It's an excellent chance to hear what the case against you will be. This means that you have to hire a lawyer immediately after your arrest so your lawyer can attend the refusal hearing with you.
   


3. Plea Bargaining. The way DWI cases are handled varies enormously from county to county. Columbia County, for example, has a reputation in the region for refusing to plea bargain and for refusing to reduce a first offence, no accident, misdemeanor DWI charge to DWAI, even when the blood alcohol content (BAC) is fairly low. Other counties nearby are just not that tough on first offences. It is therefore critically important to you that the lawyer you hire knows the local practice and the prosecutors, and that the local prosecutors know and respect the lawyer. This mutual knowledge should prevent you from a disastrous mistake, holding out for a plea offer that will never be forthcoming. And this mutual knowledge may assure you that the best possible plea bargain offer is going to be conveyed to you.
   
   You also want to be sure that the lawyer you hire has tried DWI cases successfully to verdict, and that you personally trust this lawyer's advise about whether the plea agreement should or should not be accepted, and about whether the case should or should not be tried. If you're going to consider entering a guilty plea, you want to make sure that you got the best possible plea bargain offer.
   


4. Plain Talk About Trials. The overwhelming majority of DWI cases ends up being resolved with a guilty plea and not a trial. This may be the result of many things, but I suspect that many cases that could be tried to a successful verdict end up being plead out anyway. Some of these guilty pleas might be the result of economic pressure: it's expensive to try cases to a jury verdict. And some may be the result of initially hiring lawyers who aren't going to try the case no matter what its potential.
   
   I'm sure you realize that if you've been charged with DWI, and you're willing to plead guilty to DWI and pay a fine, you probably don't need to hire a lawyer who can try the case. It's unlikely that you'll be put in jail or that you'll be placed on probation if you plead guilty on a first offence. If you can accept a DWI conviction and a fine as an outcome, almost any lawyer will do, the cheaper the better. You'll end up with a criminal record, and you'll pay a fine and surcharge of at least $625.00, you'll attend the Drinking Driving Program and you'll get a Conditional License. If your BAC is very low, you might even be offered a reduction to DWAI. In that case you'll avoid the criminal record, pay a smaller fine, attend the Drinking Driving Program and get a Conditional License. There is usually little or no lawyering required to obtain these results.
   
   The need for trials and lawyering arises only when the DWI charge is important to you and you want to try to obtain absolutely the best possible result. That's when you should call me about your case.
   


5. Serious Cases: Felonies, Second Offences. Second DWI charges usually end up being charged as felonies in Columbia and the surrounding counties. If you've been charged with felony DWI or with a second DWAI, you're potentially facing jail or prison time. You need to retain a lawyer immediately in these serious cases.

Please contact me for help:

David Seth Michaels
Attorney at Law
Route 203 at Beale Road
Spencertown, New York 12165

Telephone (518) 392-9150
Facsimile (518) 392-9130
Email: davidseth@davidseth.com

See also Criminal Law

Arizona DUI Defense: Law Office of David Alan Darby providing quality and aggressive DUI and criminal defense in all courts anywhere in the State of Arizona.

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